1st Batch Gravity Questions

Yep, another first batch-brewer with some questions about unexpected hydrometer readings.

Went the the brew store, chose a Mirror Pond clone recipe. The place was closing, so their inventory was low and they tweaked the recipe a bit. What I ended up brewing was this:

6 lb light malt syrup
1 lb dry light malt extract
1 lb great western 2 row pale malt
2 oz cascade (bittering)
1 oz cascade (flavoring)
1 oz cascade (aroma)

us-05 yeast.

3 gallon boil
2 gallons cold in the carboy.

In the "first brewing" excitement, I pitched dry yeast before a hydrometer reading. The OG was 1.037. After the initial foam went down, I found I was a little low in the carboy, probably 4.75 gallons total.

It's now 4 days later, and I busted out the hydrometer again. 1.015. (It tastes nice.)

I've been reading the forums and Papazian's book a lot the last couple of days, and I'm not sure what to think about those readings. Are they right?

And thought-evoking tips and comments would be great.

Thanks

1.037 seems a little low for the amount of extract but you probably grabbed a bunch of top off water in your hydrometer sample. I wouldn't worry about it though. Let it sit for at least two weeks and then check your hydrometer reading again to make sure you aren't creating bottle bombs. You are going to hit your FG rather quickly unless you are crazy about temp control, but you need to give the yeast time to process their own off flavors and make your beer more awesome. :rockin:

I agree, 1.037 seems pretty low for the amount of malt used but that can happen when you add cold water and don't mix properly before taking a reading sample.

1.015 is too high for bottling but sounds about right for 4 days. I often find my fermentation slows a little at the end. Give it a while longer and it will get there.